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Paterson: Congress should probe LIRR disability plan

BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO | alfonso.castillo@newsday.com

September 24, 2008

Gov. David A. Paterson yesterday asked Congress to launch an investigation into possible abuses of a federal disability compensation plan by employees of the Long Island Rail Road.

Paterson's call came on the same day that a member of the obscure federal agency that has been recently criticized for rubber-stamping LIRR disability claims spoke out against "an outdated ... system that desperately needs fixing."

A New York Times investigation Sunday uncovered that nearly all retired Long Island Rail Road employees pad their pensions with disability claims approved by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which in one recent year approved 97 percent of claims.

"Given the layers of government involved in creating what appears to be an inexcusable and excessive payment of disability benefits, it is imperative that my colleagues in the federal government and within the MTA participate in this investigation," said Paterson, who has also called for MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger to launch an investigation.

Kluger confirmed to Newsday on Monday that his office was looking into railroad employee abuses and focusing on "the possibility of collusion on the part of LIRR supervisory personnel." LIRR officials have vowed to cooperate in any investigation.

Yesterday, several members of Long Island's Congressional delegation applauded Paterson's call.

"To rubber-stamp these critical disability benefits at an absurd rate is a violation of the public trust and undermines the intention of this federal program," said Sen. Charles Schumer, who first called on Monday for an investigation of the Railroad Retirement Board by the federal Government Accountability Office. Sen. Hillary Clinton was not available for comment yesterday.

Long Island Reps. Gary Ackerman, Peter King, Tim Bishop, Carolyn McCarthy and Steve Israel also said they would support a Congressional probe. Meanwhile, Jerome Kever, a member of the Railroad Retirement Board, yesterday said the LIRR controversy "is not surprising" but added that the board's hands are tied by outdated laws.

"I understand the outrage that has ensued," said Kever, who called the nationwide federal disability grant rate under the Railroad Retirement Act "a matter of great frustration for myself and the railroad carriers I am appointed to represent."

Kever recommended reforms to the system, including having medical professionals review the board's disability determinations, allowing the board to solicit and consider medical evidence from railroad carriers, and require medical rehabilitation when applicable.